Breitbart editor blasted for video suggesting he supports pedophilia

Updated 2:15 pm, Monday, February 20, 2017

One who consistently gets the issues right, these days, is CNN’s Jake Tapper. After the vile filth of Yiannopoulos’ comments spread, Tapper set about a tweet storm, speaking on behalf of a friend who had survived the sex trafficking industry.

Media: MediaOS Video

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos was trying to clarify past comments on relationships between boys and older men after a conservative site posted a collection of edited video clips that set social media abuzz.

After the polarizing Breitbart News editor was invited this weekend to speak at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference sparked a backlash, the Reagan Battalion tweeted video clips Sunday in which Yiannopoulos discusses Jews, sexual consent, statutory rape, child abuse and homosexuality.

Slightly amorphous and definitely controversial, the "alt-right" has become the newest political hot button in Donald Trump's run for the White House.

But, how did it start and what does it mean? Here's a few things to know about the alt-right.

EXPLAINER: What is the "alt right?"

The alt-right, a collection of hard line conservatives, white supremacists, anti-immigrationists and others, have become a political hot button in Donald Trump's presidential run. Keep clicking to see the 15 things you need know about this movement as it takes center stage during the presidential race.

The alternative right is relatively new to the American political scene. The Southern Poverty Law Center pegs the start of the alt-right to 2008, when a white nationalist named Richard Bertram Spencer coined the term to describe a loose confederation of ideologies and ideas.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's "America first" campaign pitch has drawn support from the alt-right, who like his pledges to deport the estimated 11 million people living in the country illegally and to temporarily bar foreign Muslims from the U.S. Trump also has retweeted a number of messages from Twitter users with questionable profiles, including one with the handle @WhiteGenocideTM.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton says voters need to be concerned about Donald Trump's brand of "alt-right" conservatism, and that his appeal to the fringe says all people need to know about the GOP nominee.

A key piece of the alt-right philosophy is an opposition to immigration. Alt-right backers have not only opposed illegal immigration, but legal border crossings as well.

Philosophy

A key piece of the alt-right philosophy is an opposition to immigration. Alt-right backers have not only opposed illegal immigration, but legal border crossings as well.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Chronicle

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Followers

The alt-right movement also has some ties to white supremacists, anti-Semitic groups and neo-Nazis, who appear drawn to the anti-political correctness and anti-immigration strains in the movement.

Followers

The alt-right movement also has some ties to white supremacists, anti-Semitic groups and neo-Nazis, who appear drawn to the anti-political correctness and anti-immigration strains in the movement.

Photo: Richard Vogel, Associated Press

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Forerunners

Paleoconservatives, a largely isolationist, anti-immigration group led by people such as Pat Buchanan, are the closest ideological cousins to the current alt-right. Paleoconservatives generally found traditional Republicans to be lacking in how conservative they were.

Some of the thinking on the alt-right is traced to the Libertarian philosophies pushed by former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas. Paul is a long-standing critic of federal monetary policy as well as the country's military posture.

Other concepts behind the alt-right philosophy have also been traced to former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. Duke has long pushed the concept of "white rights" and "European-Americans" standing up for their heritage. Both are points consistently made by the alt-right. Duke, a former state lawmaker in Louisiana, in a speech Wednesday noted that Trump speaks like an alt-right adherent. Duke is now running for U.S. Senate in Louisiana and causing Trump heartburn by publicly supporting his campaign. Trump initially said he didn't know enough about Duke to disavow him, a point Democrats have been making in ads every since.

Alt-righters tend to reject the current crop of politicians, particularly those who have held office, such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., center, and others such as, from left, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas.

The website 4chan gave the alt-right the first really big break when it served as a channel for adherents to discuss ideas, plot protests and generally have a place to gather.

Going Online

The website 4chan gave the alt-right the first really big break when it served as a channel for adherents to discuss ideas, plot protests and generally have a place to gather.

Photo: Business Insider

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Spreading the Word

Many on the alt-right use social media platforms such as Reddit and Twitter to promote their ideas and exchange thoughts with other alt-right adherents.

Alt-right adherents have organized online campaigns around hashtags such as #WhiteGenocide, a reference to the belief that white people are being subject to an orchestrated eradication campaign and #ISaluteWhitePeople.

Steve Bannon, who runs Breitbart.com, recently joined Trump's campaign as chairman. Last month, Bannon told Mother Jones magazine that Breitbart was "the platform for the alt-right" but he insisted the movement wasn't racist even if it has attracted some people who are.

Traditional Republicans and conservatives disavow some of what is seen as racism and anti-Semitism on behalf of the alt-right. Conservative New York Times columnist Ross Douthat pegged the alt-right as "racist pro-Trump Twitter accounts and anti-P.C. provacoteurs."

Some long-standing backers of the GOP have defended the alt-right movement. A Fox News correspondent said the alt-right is more than a place for racists and anti-Semites. Talk show host Rush Limbaugh told a caller questioning the alt-right: "There is a thriving, youthful conservative emergence happening in this country. They may be borrowing from what's going on in Europe."

Political movements come and go in America, sometimes petering out, other times being absorbed or overtaking a mainstream party. What will happen with the alt-right once Trump's campaign is done? Trump could bring followers along if he follow through on talk of creating his own media company.

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Yiannopoulos writes for Breitbart News, considered by many a platform for the so-called "alt-right" movement, an offshoot of conservatism that mixes racism, white nationalism and populism. While he has publicly denounced parts of the "alt-right," he is also often credited with promoting the movement's agenda in his controversial writings and speaking tours.

The Reagan Battalion is a blog that describes itself as "news, information, commentary, from a conservative perspective."

On January 20, Yiannopoulos spoke at the University of Washington. His talk was interrupted after pro-Yiannopoulos and anti-fascist supporters clashed, resulting in one man being shot in the abdomen. The the 34-year-old victim, who was protesting the event with Industrial Workers of the World, was in critical condition immediately following the incident. The 29-year-old confessed shooter is a UW student.